Successful Arts Council England funding for SVA

Stroud Valleys Artspace (SVA) has been granted £510,000 from the Arts Council to complete the final phase of capital refurbishment of it’s town centre building. A further £86,000 will need to be raised from charitable trusts and donations before the work can begin in July this year.

SVA’s John Street building provides low-cost artist workspace and a venue for a dynamic artist led programme. SVA hosts the Site Festival which draws thousands of visitors to Stroud every year. Over the years SVA has made a huge contribution to the local economy by attracting major external funding into the town, which enabled the first two phases of refurbishment to be completed back in 2007.

This latest news is very welcome not only to SVA and it’s users but to Stroud as a town and community. This final stage will see a new street facing public exhibition space, studios and courtyard area which are being designed by internationally renowned Tony Fretton Architects, known for Camden Arts centre and the British Embassy in Warsaw amongst others. These high quality public spaces will dramatically improve the John Street area and greatly enhance the quality of experience for visitors to Stroud.

“We are really pleased to be part of the Arts Council’s capital programme. We are the smallest organisation on a list that includes the Royal Opera House which received £10 million and the National Theatre with £17.5 million. This funding really shows that Stroud is seen as a cultural hotspot on the national arts map”

“SVA had to make a very strong business case to show how we plan to be more sustainable and resilient in the future. We were also assessed on our ability to encourage greater participation in our artistic programme with a wide variety of people from all parts of the community”

Jo Leahy, co-director, SVA